This is because Kotaku was really just IGN from an alternate dimension that chose not to be baptized and now Kotaku has to try and destroy IGN in order to save their future video game reviews from being embargoed, except by destroying them they also destroy themselves which eliminates future reviews from happening at all.

State_College_Arsonist:I pre-ordered Infinite only because Steam is offering a free copy of XCOM with every purchase. Two new games for $60 is a decent deal.

3 if you count the original Bioshock. That was one hell of a deal since I was planning on buying XCOM and Infinite anyway.

FlashHarry:i'm not familiar with the bioshock universe, but this seems relevant to my interests.

Great game. I just checked Steam and they have a demo. If you like it, the pre-order of Infinite comes with a free copy of the original Bioshock and XCOM. I guess Steam jacked up the price for the originals. Could have sworn they were cheaper than $20.

SpoilerAlert:This is because Kotaku was really just IGN from an alternate dimension that chose not to be baptized and now Kotaku has to try and destroy IGN in order to save their future video game reviews from being embargoed, except by destroying them they also destroy themselves which eliminates future reviews from happening at all.

pute kisses like a man:I wasn't really impressed with bioshock 1 or 2? got kind of bored, thought the gameplay was wonky. i also didn't like how cartoony it was

I somewhat agree, though I never played 2. Not particularly challenging and there were only like five types of enemies in the whole game, all of which were rather similar. I put it down about 3/4s through and never felt compelled to finish.

As a sign of how much I can't wait for this game, I'll be heading to the store Monday at midnight to pick it up. I've been anticipating the day since they first announced the game three years ago. The original was one of my favorite games of all time.

And yes, some day I will get a new computer to replace this POS so I can finally play System Shock 2

alwaysjaded:State_College_Arsonist: I pre-ordered Infinite only because Steam is offering a free copy of XCOM with every purchase. Two new games for $60 is a decent deal.

3 if you count the original Bioshock. That was one hell of a deal since I was planning on buying XCOM and Infinite anyway.

FlashHarry: i'm not familiar with the bioshock universe, but this seems relevant to my interests.

Great game. I just checked Steam and they have a demo. If you like it, the pre-order of Infinite comes with a free copy of the original Bioshock and XCOM. I guess Steam jacked up the price for the originals. Could have sworn they were cheaper than $20.

Theyre frequently on sale, pretty sure you can get 1 and 2 for like $7.50 every couple of weeks.

wraith95:pute kisses like a man: I wasn't really impressed with bioshock 1 or 2? got kind of bored, thought the gameplay was wonky. i also didn't like how cartoony it was

I somewhat agree, though I never played 2. Not particularly challenging and there were only like five types of enemies in the whole game, all of which were rather similar. I put it down about 3/4s through and never felt compelled to finish.

yeah, i made it about 3/4 through the first, then only about 10 minutes into the second.

/ i bought both as a packaged Steam super sale, so at least i wasn't out too much money.

Plant Rights Activist:I think I'm just going to youtube the cinematics and the good/bad ending and save myself the time and money.

I did that with the Harry Potter book series. I had some friends that were incessantly talking it up and wouldn't leave me alone about reading it. So I read the first chapter of the first book and the last chapter of the last book in their presence and said, "Oh, good. Everything seemed to work out."

State_College_Arsonist:I pre-ordered Infinite only because Steam is offering a free copy of XCOM with every purchase. Two new games for $60 is a decent deal.

I pre-ordered it last night for the same reason. I had planned on buying Xcom anyway, I'd played a pirated version and loved it so I wanted to buy it. So this was the perfect incentive. Even bought the Xcom DLC while I was at it, so I can play through Xcom again when I'm done with Bioshock.

Plus they throw in the original Bioshock too... I love Steam so much I want to hike the Appalachian Trail with it.

Am I the only one that is sick and tired of these blatently bought reviews. Kotaku... I is disapoint. To sell out to IGN money. I myself read the IGN article on both my mobile device and my desktop and the desktop version is supremely superior though it did fail on my goto browser... it works with most others.. Thier estimate on read time is blatently overblown, And they are incorrect that the review is compatable with Netscape.

Saiga410:Am I the only one that is sick and tired of these blatantly bought reviews.

It's often not even about them being 'bought' per se, but if you want free merch and advance copies from game companies you'd better not trash their games. The bigger your company is and the more stuff you can afford to give to review sites, the more review sites will herald your game as the coming messiah. This is why you seldom see any game from a big developer get a score below 5 out of 10. For that reason i suggest just using 5 as the new 0.

All the popular ones whore themselves out to some degree, but Kotaku is the worst by far.

J. Frank Parnell:Saiga410: Am I the only one that is sick and tired of these blatantly bought reviews.

It's often not even about them being 'bought' per se, but if you want free merch and advance copies from game companies you'd better not trash their games. The bigger your company is and the more stuff you can afford to give to review sites, the more review sites will herald your game as the coming messiah. This is why you seldom see any game from a big developer get a score below 5 out of 10. For that reason i suggest just using 5 as the new 0.

All the popular ones whore themselves out to some degree, but Kotaku is the worst by far.

You do realize he was making fun of the "bought reviews" thing saying that IGN bought Kotaku off to give them a positive review of their review.

I was actually impressed with the big name review sites in regards to SimCity. Damn near every single one warned players to not purchase it until everything is worked out. IGN said something like "there's a good game here, but the crap you have to get through to get there is NOT worth it."

shouldn't it be aeroshock infinite? or how about just skyshock? skyrim proves people love the word "sky" in their game titles, where's the water?!

This has always been a weird argument. What the hell does "bio" have to do with being underwater? I always figured it dealt with the super genetic engineering that ruined Rapture, not Rapture itself. And this game still has powers, presumably from genetic manipulation (possibly even stolen and improved from Rapture itself, given the whole "tear" dynamic).

scottydoesntknow:You do realize he was making fun of the "bought reviews" thing saying that IGN bought Kotaku off to give them a positive review of their review.

Was still an opportunity to go on my little spiel. However tenuous.

I was actually impressed with the big name review sites in regards to SimCity. Damn near every single one warned players to not purchase it until everything is worked out. IGN said something like "there's a good game here, but the crap you have to get through to get there is NOT worth it."

After the gaming community overwhelmingly took that stance, they did too. They have to at least pretend they have their finger on the pulse of gamer culture.

J. Frank Parnell:Saiga410: Am I the only one that is sick and tired of these blatantly bought reviews.

It's often not even about them being 'bought' per se, but if you want free merch and advance copies from game companies you'd better not trash their games. The bigger your company is and the more stuff you can afford to give to review sites, the more review sites will herald your game as the coming messiah. This is why you seldom see any game from a big developer get a score below 5 out of 10. For that reason i suggest just using 5 as the new 0.

All the popular ones whore themselves out to some degree, but Kotaku is the worst by far.

it's generally accepted that game website writers are easy pushovers by publishers - whether it's sending swag or free games, or letting developers get out and buddy-buddy with websites so there's a personal connection... there's also a lot of recruitment from PR firms for people in the gaming press with better paying jobs and better work environments, and there's just the deal that reviewing games for a living isn't as good as job as it sounds and a lot of people in the gaming press went in wanting to climb the ladder and jump into game development themselves to begin with

so yeah, game journalism has always been a joke, it's more like enthusiast blogging than "journalism" for a lot of reasons

it's a lot easier to just filter through user reviews and watch youtube videos of the gameplay to see whether you'll enjoy a game or not

J. Frank Parnell:Saiga410: Am I the only one that is sick and tired of these blatantly bought reviews.

It's often not even about them being 'bought' per se, but if you want free merch and advance copies from game companies you'd better not trash their games. The bigger your company is and the more stuff you can afford to give to review sites, the more review sites will herald your game as the coming messiah. This is why you seldom see any game from a big developer get a score below 5 out of 10. For that reason i suggest just using 5 as the new 0.

All the popular ones whore themselves out to some degree, but Kotaku is the worst by far.

Most free merch you mention is PR garbage that gets dumped or stored. I loved the hell out of Max Payne 3, and it's not because I have a pill storage box emblazoned with the title (trash) or a T-shirt I'm too tall for (Goodwill). But yeah, it's better to be cautious of any site with ads for that game on it or plastered everywhere or has some sort of exclusivity for the review.

pute kisses like a man:I wasn't really impressed with bioshock 1 or 2? got kind of bored, thought the gameplay was wonky. i also didn't like how cartoony it was

I downloaded the demo of 1, played it, said "meh", then erased it. A couple weeks ago I saw 1 for sale on xbox live and I said, "maybe it's not too bad of a game", so I downloaded the game, played it, said "meh" again, then erased it.

Am I the only one on the planet that is completely not impressed or entertained by this game? The graphics are very pretty, I'll give you that, but it completely didn't suck me in at all.

AdamK:there's also a lot of recruitment from PR firms for people in the gaming press with better paying jobs and better work environments

lol, in what capacity? I don't know if you've been watching the game industry for the past couple of years, but there's not really a lot of well paying jobs for ex-video game writers with any type of job security.

J. Frank Parnell:scottydoesntknow: You do realize he was making fun of the "bought reviews" thing saying that IGN bought Kotaku off to give them a positive review of their review.

Was still an opportunity to go on my little spiel. However tenuous.

I was actually impressed with the big name review sites in regards to SimCity. Damn near every single one warned players to not purchase it until everything is worked out. IGN said something like "there's a good game here, but the crap you have to get through to get there is NOT worth it."

After the gaming community overwhelmingly took that stance, they did too. They have to at least pretend they have their finger on the pulse of gamer culture.

Ehhh I think they're starting to learn. They also tore apart Aliens: Colonial Marines (Gearbox Software) before the internet took hold. They were putting articles up prior to release doubting a lot (especially after comparing the footage Gearbox showed at a convention vs. the final product). Not saying it doesn't happen, but I think they're starting to realize that putting up blatantly bought reviews isn't gonna fly anymore.

I use gamerankings anyway, get an aggregate idea of what everyone's thinking. Usually read some of the big name reviews as well as some of the no-name ones.

I can't trust that IGN review. I need to know that the game isn't hobbled by poor AI because it's essentially for the most part an escort mission. unless Elizabeth is invincible, then I dont care if she stands in the way of my gunfire.

Did enjoy Bioshock 1. It was part System Shock, part Ayn Rand (she's a bigger asshole than SHODAN ever was!)

I'm not convinced. I don't want to read the review on the first day then have to read the reviews of every bit of DLC released for the game. And thats if it runs on my current browser. I'm not going to upgrade my browser just to read one review,. no matter how compeling it may be. I'm in no hurry. I have more than enough to read right now. I'll wait a year and read the GOTY edition review all at once.

alwaysjaded:State_College_Arsonist: I pre-ordered Infinite only because Steam is offering a free copy of XCOM with every purchase. Two new games for $60 is a decent deal.

3 if you count the original Bioshock. That was one hell of a deal since I was planning on buying XCOM and Infinite anyway.

FlashHarry: i'm not familiar with the bioshock universe, but this seems relevant to my interests.

Great game. I just checked Steam and they have a demo. If you like it, the pre-order of Infinite comes with a free copy of the original Bioshock and XCOM. I guess Steam jacked up the price for the originals. Could have sworn they were cheaper than $20.

I think the originals have been $20 for a while, but go on sale for less fairly often. I've been tempted by this pre-order deal because I do want both Infinite and XCom, but then I realized I'm already backlogged on games and by the time I get around to playing either they'll both be on sale for much less.//from other recent sales I'm currently working my way through DarkStalkers, Max Payne 3, Alex Wake, Fallen Enchantress and GTA IV, and considering getting Dark Souls at 50% off this weekend

But I have been burned too much by big name studios in the past couple of years to pre-preorder anything anymore. I'll wait a couple of weeks, see if there is any nerdrage, and then read the player reviews.

I'm preordering it tonight (assuming my last can of Violet Paint for TF2 finally sold-knocked about twenty bucks off selling random TF2 crap in the Steam Community Market).

There are four seperate preorder bonuses for it on Steam:

1. The standard preorder bonus of access to the puzzle game and some extra in-game items.2. The original Bioshock.3. Seven TF2 cosmetics.4. And XCOM: Enemy Unknown, which is a six month old AAA title that still costs $50.

(If you have either of the games already, you can trade them away.)

It looks pretty good. The original Bioshock game was, IMHO, great and was the best reviewed FPS ever that wasn't made by Valve. Bioshock 2 was fairly bleah, though (I didn't even finish it), but that was laziness and this...is not.

pute kisses like a man:wraith95: pute kisses like a man: I wasn't really impressed with bioshock 1 or 2? got kind of bored, thought the gameplay was wonky. i also didn't like how cartoony it was

I somewhat agree, though I never played 2. Not particularly challenging and there were only like five types of enemies in the whole game, all of which were rather similar. I put it down about 3/4s through and never felt compelled to finish.

yeah, i made it about 3/4 through the first, then only about 10 minutes into the second.

/ i bought both as a packaged Steam super sale, so at least i wasn't out too much money.

I think thats how most people felt. By the time I got 3/4 through i was certainly ready for the game to end already. I trudged on but didn't really care.

Now that Im playing "Pathologic" I laugh at Bioshocks puny attempt at morality.

MadSkillz:I can't trust that IGN review. I need to know that the game isn't hobbled by poor AI because it's essentially for the most part an escort mission. unless Elizabeth is invincible, then I dont care if she stands in the way of my gunfire.

That was my worry too, but apparently she is in fact invincible and ends up just being a talking ammo dispenser.

Geotpf:I'm preordering it tonight (assuming my last can of Violet Paint for TF2 finally sold-knocked about twenty bucks off selling random TF2 crap in the Steam Community Market).

There are four seperate preorder bonuses for it on Steam:

1. The standard preorder bonus of access to the puzzle game and some extra in-game items.2. The original Bioshock.3. Seven TF2 cosmetics.4. And XCOM: Enemy Unknown, which is a six month old AAA title that still costs $50.

(If you have either of the games already, you can trade them away.)

It looks pretty good. The original Bioshock game was, IMHO, great and was the best reviewed FPS ever that wasn't made by Valve. Bioshock 2 was fairly bleah, though (I didn't even finish it), but that was laziness and this...is not.

Bioshock was ok with two exceptions:

1. The water puzzles got incredibly old and tedious2. The complete 180 in design strategy to have a big boss fight at the end pushed by the publisher2.5 the whole take kids energy or not 'divergent ending' was weak. very weak.

I pre-ordered the game on Steam before it was cool (before you knew whether or not you'd get XCOM or not). But there were lots of other distributors offering out-and-out free games with their pre-orders, so I figured that the playerbase would scream absolute bloody murder if they didn't end up getting it (and worst case scenario, they'd probably let the pre-orders buy it for a pittance).

The reviewer at IGN said that this game has a huge legacy to live up to because of the gigantic twist in Bioshock, so everyone is expecting and anticipating a huge twist in Bioshock 2. Despite all the forewarning, his jaw still dropped when he got to the reveal.

I cannot farking wait. I'm taking at least a half day off on Wednesday, if not the whole day.

SpoilerAlert:This is because Kotaku was really just IGN from an alternate dimension that chose not to be baptized and now Kotaku has to try and destroy IGN in order to save their future video game reviews from being embargoed, except by destroying them they also destroy themselves which eliminates future reviews from happening at all.

Geotpf:I'm preordering it tonight (assuming my last can of Violet Paint for TF2 finally sold-knocked about twenty bucks off selling random TF2 crap in the Steam Community Market).

There are four seperate preorder bonuses for it on Steam:

1. The standard preorder bonus of access to the puzzle game and some extra in-game items.2. The original Bioshock.3. Seven TF2 cosmetics.4. And XCOM: Enemy Unknown, which is a six month old AAA title that still costs $50.

(If you have either of the games already, you can trade them away.)

It looks pretty good. The original Bioshock game was, IMHO, great and was the best reviewed FPS ever that wasn't made by Valve. Bioshock 2 was fairly bleah, though (I didn't even finish it), but that was laziness and this...is not.

I honestly had no idea how much that paint sold for, or that there was a market for it. I used it on my unusual Dota courier, then kicked myself when I saw it sold for $50 on the marketplace.

Trollin4Colon:I think thats how most people felt. By the time I got 3/4 through i was certainly ready for the game to end already. I trudged on but didn't really care.

This is obvious by the terrible player review scores it received....8.3 average out of 688 reviews on gamefaqs.8.2 average out of 1781 ratings on metacritic (PC).8.8 average out of 1587 ratings on metacritic (Xbox)

People always reward perceived tedium with four star ratings. Clearly.

I was mildly distracted by it and got all the way through. I felt like there was promise that was squandered. Atmospherically, it was really good. Aside from that, not so much. I picked up Bioshock 2 on a steam sale and got 10 minutes in and saw nothing new, so I quit and haven't picked it up again. My biggest problem is that I am a Half-Life / Left4Dead bigot. Love those games and everything else suffers by comparison. Well, except for Dragon Age:Origins and Skyrim, to a lesser extent.

Cubicle Jockey:Trollin4Colon: I think thats how most people felt. By the time I got 3/4 through i was certainly ready for the game to end already. I trudged on but didn't really care.

This is obvious by the terrible player review scores it received....8.3 average out of 688 reviews on gamefaqs.8.2 average out of 1781 ratings on metacritic (PC).8.8 average out of 1587 ratings on metacritic (Xbox)

People always reward perceived tedium with four star ratings. Clearly.

Yeah because there's no way even a good game can run out of steam towards the end. Clearly.

Trollin4Colon:pute kisses like a man: wraith95: pute kisses like a man: I wasn't really impressed with bioshock 1 or 2? got kind of bored, thought the gameplay was wonky. i also didn't like how cartoony it was

I somewhat agree, though I never played 2. Not particularly challenging and there were only like five types of enemies in the whole game, all of which were rather similar. I put it down about 3/4s through and never felt compelled to finish.

yeah, i made it about 3/4 through the first, then only about 10 minutes into the second.

/ i bought both as a packaged Steam super sale, so at least i wasn't out too much money.

I think thats how most people felt. By the time I got 3/4 through i was certainly ready for the game to end already. I trudged on but didn't really care.

Now that Im playing "Pathologic" I laugh at Bioshocks puny attempt at morality.

After the big plot twist the game kind of falls flat.

Now that I'm playing "Planescape: Torment" (again) I laugh at Bioshock's puny attempt at morality.

WillyChase:Geotpf: I'm preordering it tonight (assuming my last can of Violet Paint for TF2 finally sold-knocked about twenty bucks off selling random TF2 crap in the Steam Community Market).

There are four seperate preorder bonuses for it on Steam:

1. The standard preorder bonus of access to the puzzle game and some extra in-game items.2. The original Bioshock.3. Seven TF2 cosmetics.4. And XCOM: Enemy Unknown, which is a six month old AAA title that still costs $50.

(If you have either of the games already, you can trade them away.)

It looks pretty good. The original Bioshock game was, IMHO, great and was the best reviewed FPS ever that wasn't made by Valve. Bioshock 2 was fairly bleah, though (I didn't even finish it), but that was laziness and this...is not.

I honestly had no idea how much that paint sold for, or that there was a market for it. I used it on my unusual Dota courier, then kicked myself when I saw it sold for $50 on the marketplace.

It ended up selling for 54 cents or so; it wasn't a rare/expensive color. Paint is much more expensive in Dota 2 than TF2 for some reason (I don't follow Dota 2 so I dunno why). The most expensive paint in TF2 is black or white paint which are both about five bucks. I sold about a dozen items in the marketplace to raise a little money for this and that was the last one to sell.

Tyrone Slothrop:Trollin4Colon: pute kisses like a man: wraith95: pute kisses like a man: I wasn't really impressed with bioshock 1 or 2? got kind of bored, thought the gameplay was wonky. i also didn't like how cartoony it was

(snip)Now that Im playing "Pathologic" I laugh at Bioshocks puny attempt at morality.

After the big plot twist the game kind of falls flat.

Now that I'm playing "Planescape: Torment" (again) I laugh at Bioshock's puny attempt at morality.

It's choice suffered from the same thing many morality games do, you can be either a paragon or cartoonishly evil. It would have been more interesting if they would have started the first little sister as an adult, and then made them progressively younger.

Has anyone ever gotten anything of value for their "exclusive" pack-in toys from collectors' editions of video games? The coins from Elder Scrolls? The states from other games? The masks from others? The maps? Plaques? Badges? Figurines?

It's just idiotic to pre-order a game. I should hope the Sim City, Diablo III, and Spore experiences proved that, but apparently people still pre-order.

But then, I generally refuse to pay $60 for a game, anyway. Wait six months and it's $40. Wait another six months and it's $30. Wait for it to show up in a Steam sale and it's $5 on some holiday weekend.

I can wait to play games. I might be behind everyone else on AAA titles, but I get the same experience eventually, and for a lot less money.

wraith95:It's choice suffered from the same thing many morality games do, you can be either a paragon or cartoonishly evil. It would have been more interesting if they would have started the first little sister as an adult, and then made them progressively younger.

it didn't help that the entire idea of harvesting the little sisters was that you would get more of whatever the resource for powers was but if you saved them you got presents all over the place that more or less equaled the stuff you got from harvesting them.

wraith95:Tyrone Slothrop: Trollin4Colon: pute kisses like a man: wraith95: pute kisses like a man: I wasn't really impressed with bioshock 1 or 2? got kind of bored, thought the gameplay was wonky. i also didn't like how cartoony it was (snip)Now that Im playing "Pathologic" I laugh at Bioshocks puny attempt at morality.

After the big plot twist the game kind of falls flat.

Now that I'm playing "Planescape: Torment" (again) I laugh at Bioshock's puny attempt at morality.

It's choice suffered from the same thing many morality games do, you can be either a paragon or cartoonishly evil. It would have been more interesting if they would have started the first little sister as an adult, and then made them progressively younger.

IIRC, Bioshock was one of the first games that tried to do this. It's implementation was clumsy, but it could be viewed as a prototype.

What's really unforgivable is that too many games that do morality choices are still trapped in the same dualistic template and that the "evil" choices are, almost invariably, of the "this guy's being kind of a dick" variety.

ZeroCorpse:Has anyone ever gotten anything of value for their "exclusive" pack-in toys from collectors' editions of video games? The coins from Elder Scrolls? The states from other games? The masks from others? The maps? Plaques? Badges? Figurines?

It's just idiotic to pre-order a game. I should hope the Sim City, Diablo III, and Spore experiences proved that, but apparently people still pre-order.

But then, I generally refuse to pay $60 for a game, anyway. Wait six months and it's $40. Wait another six months and it's $30. Wait for it to show up in a Steam sale and it's $5 on some holiday weekend.

I can wait to play games. I might be behind everyone else on AAA titles, but I get the same experience eventually, and for a lot less money.

Ehhh if it's a company or series that I really like, I'll pre-order. Mind you, I've lost faith in franchises from being burned (won't preorder another EA/BioWare product until they do something right). But developers like Bethesda (TES, Fallout series, Dishonored), Borderlands (Not Gearbox as a whole, what with Duke Nukem and Aliens: CM), Darksiders (which I think may be dead, sad face), etc., I'll pre-order and probably go for the collector's pack. I like knowing I'm supporting the developers and also get some stuff.

And 99% of places won't force you to pick-up a preorder. If I throw down $5 for a preorder and decide not to pick it up, I can just apply it to another game I'm getting. Doing that with Aliens: CM (I loved the franchise, saw the reviews, and said fark that) and applying it to BioShock.

Some 'Splainin' To Do:wraith95: Tyrone Slothrop: Trollin4Colon: pute kisses like a man: wraith95: pute kisses like a man: I wasn't really impressed with bioshock 1 or 2? got kind of bored, thought the gameplay was wonky. i also didn't like how cartoony it was (snip)Now that Im playing "Pathologic" I laugh at Bioshocks puny attempt at morality.

After the big plot twist the game kind of falls flat.

Now that I'm playing "Planescape: Torment" (again) I laugh at Bioshock's puny attempt at morality.

It's choice suffered from the same thing many morality games do, you can be either a paragon or cartoonishly evil. It would have been more interesting if they would have started the first little sister as an adult, and then made them progressively younger.

IIRC, Bioshock was one of the first games that tried to do this. It's implementation was clumsy, but it could be viewed as a prototype.

What's really unforgivable is that too many games that do morality choices are still trapped in the same dualistic template and that the "evil" choices are, almost invariably, of the "this guy's being kind of a dick" variety.

Fallout series did pretty damn good with the morality system. Sometimes it just involved being a dick, but you could go straight evil too. I mean, one of the very first quests you can get in Fallout 3 is whether or not to nuke a whole town.

I'm holding off. The copy of Bioshock 1 and Xcom is tempting, but honestly? After most of the AAA titles of the past year or two have been major disapointments on technical or personal levels, I'm just done with buying 'the new thing' all the time.

I expect to buy infinite at some point, but honestly, I'm just fatigued. I'll pick it up when it goes on 1/2 price sale or something, I'm tired of games coming from great pedigrees and being giant festering piles of dog shiat.

Lumbar Puncture:AdamK: there's also a lot of recruitment from PR firms for people in the gaming press with better paying jobs and better work environments

lol, in what capacity? I don't know if you've been watching the game industry for the past couple of years, but there's not really a lot of well paying jobs for ex-video game writers with any type of job security.

AdamK:Lumbar Puncture: AdamK: there's also a lot of recruitment from PR firms for people in the gaming press with better paying jobs and better work environments

lol, in what capacity? I don't know if you've been watching the game industry for the past couple of years, but there's not really a lot of well paying jobs for ex-video game writers with any type of job security.

PR jobs, not video game writing jobs

Well yeah, that's what I was referring to, there aren't a lot of those jobs around and those that are aren't exactly secure positions by any means or very well paying. For the most part the editor in chief of a website has the contact with the PR firms, not the individual reviewers. Someone with a marketing degree has a lot more value to a PR firm recruiter than someone who has written for Ziff Davis.

ZeroCorpse:Has anyone ever gotten anything of value for their "exclusive" pack-in toys from collectors' editions of video games? The coins from Elder Scrolls? The states from other games? The masks from others? The maps? Plaques? Badges? Figurines?

It's just idiotic to pre-order a game. I should hope the Sim City, Diablo III, and Spore experiences proved that, but apparently people still pre-order.

Eh, I've got plenty of stuff from my Borderlands 2 Loot Chest decorating the mancave, ditto for Killzone 3. I think I've ordered a grand total of four special editions and I'm pretty happy with what I got. Honestly the problem isn't pre-orders, it's not being able to get a refund(looking at you Steam).

While a cute bit of humour, this actually points to something more nasty - that either IGN broke the embargo, or IGN was granted permission to run a review before everyone else (thus further casting IGN into suspicion of poor integrity).

But I have been burned too much by big name studios in the past couple of years to pre-preorder anything anymore. I'll wait a couple of weeks, see if there is any nerdrage, and then read the player reviews.

/9.0 and 2.0 score reviews are the ones worth reading.

Original Bioshock 1 team did not make number 2. But they *did* make this one. They almost had my money from the videos...consistent good reviews all but guarantees ill be bribing my wife for some time to play.

ZeroCorpse:Has anyone ever gotten anything of value for their "exclusive" pack-in toys from collectors' editions of video games? The coins from Elder Scrolls? The states from other games? The masks from others? The maps? Plaques? Badges? Figurines?

It's just idiotic to pre-order a game. I should hope the Sim City, Diablo III, and Spore experiences proved that, but apparently people still pre-order.

But then, I generally refuse to pay $60 for a game, anyway. Wait six months and it's $40. Wait another six months and it's $30. Wait for it to show up in a Steam sale and it's $5 on some holiday weekend.

I can wait to play games. I might be behind everyone else on AAA titles, but I get the same experience eventually, and for a lot less money.

kroonermanblack:I'm holding off. The copy of Bioshock 1 and Xcom is tempting, but honestly? After most of the AAA titles of the past year or two have been major disapointments on technical or personal levels, I'm just done with buying 'the new thing' all the time.

I expect to buy infinite at some point, but honestly, I'm just fatigued. I'll pick it up when it goes on 1/2 price sale or something, I'm tired of games coming from great pedigrees and being giant festering piles of dog shiat.

I've been incredibly happy with indie games over the past few years. Granted, they'll never have the polish of a multimillion dollar title made by a huge staff but they are improving. More importantly, there are many games with genuinely fresh, new ideas and there are numerous bundle offers around offering multiple games at a very cheap price. There are also quite a few excellent free games out there as well, and while it does take some digging to find them it's more than worth the time.

It's like the golden age of the Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum happening all over again except without the rubbish licenced games and dodgy arcade ports crowding the top of the charts.

Not buying it until I see reviews. After Aliens and Sim City, I'm not exactly in a very trusting mood when it comes to games anymore. fark the insipid preorder and micro-transaction culture that's KILLING gaming.

This policy is still enforced, even for a new Bioshock game. I loved System Shock 2 and Bioshock, but I just can't trust developers and publishers on their word anymore. I can always fire up Hotline Miami or Saints Row 3 again to tide me over.

starsrift:While a cute bit of humour, this actually points to something more nasty - that either IGN broke the embargo, or IGN was granted permission to run a review before everyone else (thus further casting IGN into suspicion of poor integrity).

I was going to wait a while as I just can't justify spending $60 on a game when I can get it six or eight months down the road for 25-50% off during one of their "shut up and take my money" sales. Free copy of X-COM? Don't mind if I do!

scottydoesntknow:Some 'Splainin' To Do: wraith95: Tyrone Slothrop: Trollin4Colon: pute kisses like a man: wraith95: pute kisses like a man: I wasn't really impressed with bioshock 1 or 2? got kind of bored, thought the gameplay was wonky. i also didn't like how cartoony it was (snip)Now that Im playing "Pathologic" I laugh at Bioshocks puny attempt at morality.

After the big plot twist the game kind of falls flat.

Now that I'm playing "Planescape: Torment" (again) I laugh at Bioshock's puny attempt at morality.

It's choice suffered from the same thing many morality games do, you can be either a paragon or cartoonishly evil. It would have been more interesting if they would have started the first little sister as an adult, and then made them progressively younger.

IIRC, Bioshock was one of the first games that tried to do this. It's implementation was clumsy, but it could be viewed as a prototype.

What's really unforgivable is that too many games that do morality choices are still trapped in the same dualistic template and that the "evil" choices are, almost invariably, of the "this guy's being kind of a dick" variety.

Fallout series did pretty damn good with the morality system. Sometimes it just involved being a dick, but you could go straight evil too. I mean, one of the very first quests you can get in Fallout 3 is whether or not to nuke a whole town.

I liked who vampire the masquerade bloodlines introduced morality with a humanity score that had real effects on the character (higher humanity, some unique dialogue options, increased resistance to frenzy; lower humanity, constant frenzy and some very funny dialogue options). but, there was little change in the plot, which was more based on choices that were not moralistic. also, it was fun to have a kind of notoriety score (masquerade violations). the more blatantly you do goofy vampire stuff, the more pissed off every one is about your existence.

now, if you could keep up the ongoing morality tally like fallout and vampire, that's great. and make your character's stats actually change because of morality, that's cooler. and, unique dialogue options are always appreciated... it's basically what makes a game replayable. but, there needs to be more than one obvious option for morality to be interesting.

paidhima:I was going to wait a while as I just can't justify spending $60 on a game when I can get it six or eight months down the road for 25-50% off during one of their "shut up and take my money" sales. Free copy of X-COM? Don't mind if I do!

Well, the more people that do that, the likelier that we don't get these games period because of poor sales.

Prob don't have to worry with this one, but I tend to buy games that are fantastic but not selling so well at full price to support the devs for making a great game, so they then make more great games. GTA4, Madden or COD doesn't need my money though.